JANESVILLE 鈥 City Council unanimously approved a proposed ordinance that lays out the location of a special district where people would be permitted to drink alcohol outdoors along downtown sidewalks.
The only change made was to the time of the DORA. Rather than having it from 10 a.m.-10 p.m., council voted to change operating hours to noon-10 p.m. Monday through Sunday.
Several members of the business improvement district and Forward 糖心Vlog传媒 spoke in favor of passing the ordinance, saying that it would help bring more people and more spending to downtown.
Forward 糖心Vlog传媒 President and CEO Shar Hermanson said that the downtown area has used private-public partnerships for improving as an attraction, but a DORA would help keep that momentum going.
鈥淭o maintain the momentum, the community must see visible signs of progress and energy related to downtown,鈥 she said. 鈥淎 DORA is one of those visible signs. It signals activity and it signals vibrancy. We ask that you move this forward and to continue to transform downtown.鈥
However, some community members, including a representative from the Rock County Youth Prevention Coalition, spoke on the risks to underage people who spend time downtown and could be affected by increased access to alcohol.
Gianna Rath said that because the perimeter includes the YMCA, the bubbler and the new Children鈥檚 Museum, this will affect public safety.
鈥淭he Dora does more than allow outdoor beverages, and it intentionally integrates alcohol consumption into shared spaces where families, teens and children gather, or concerts, festivals, markets and everyday downtown activities. And from a prevention perspective, this matters a lot,鈥 she said. 鈥淪ome specific concerns that we have are the increased normalization of alcoholic use in these spaces in these youth-centered spaces.
鈥淭he long-term community and assets that will not be made must also weigh the cost of excessive alcohol use, not only for public safety, but with lost productivity.鈥
Edie Baran said that she wasn鈥檛 really concerned about the DORA until she heard from the community members who spoke about youth spaces that are included within the perimeter.
Her concern was with the Farmers Market being a space for families. She felt that having that time frame coincide with the market could be troublesome.
The DORA boundaries, according to a map provided by the organizers, encompass most of the central downtown area, also known as downtown鈥檚 entertainment district. The map shows highlighted streets that would be part of the DORA area, including North and South Main streets; East and West Milwaukee streets; parts of North Franklin and South Jackson streets; and blocks of West Court and River streets along the riverfront. The DORA also encompasses the town square where the farmers market and other public events are held.
Steve Knox, a board member from the Business Improvement District, said that this would include the riverwalk from East Milwaukee Street to Great Harvest, the sidewalk from Riverwalk to North Main Street through Firehouse Park, but won鈥檛 encompass the park itself.
Open alcohol will only be allowed in retail businesses if there is permission from the property owner.
Council Member Heather Miller asked Sergeant Drew Seaver how law enforcement will prevent people from drinking in Firehouse Park or abusing this.
Seaver said enforcement of the new district rules will focus on education first, with citations used only after repeated violations.
鈥淔rom my standpoint from the beginning of this very first meeting all the way through, like our ordinance we use for snow parking or snow emergency parking, initial stages we鈥檒l give warnings,鈥 he said. 鈥淎s we progress further along, and of course our officers are documenting every call. Every officer documents the person they had contact with, so if there is a prior warning, we鈥檒l have access to that, [and can] take an action on the citation [if] needed.鈥
The speaker added that collaboration between downtown organizations, businesses and police should help create a manageable and enforceable business district.
